WELCOMING INVESTORS: - Ministry of Tourism - Ontario.ca

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ONTARIO’S COMPETITIVE STRENGTHS► St. Lawrence Cruise Lines, KingstonOntario remains a destination of choice forinternational investors. Despite current challengesfaced by many Western economies, the provincecontinues to build on its competitive strengths,grow its economy and successfully attractbusinesses from around the world.Ontario’s tourism industry is a key part of theprovince’s economic success. Supported by arobust economy, proximity to a large and affluentmarket, a skilled workforce, competitive businesscosts and excellent international accessibility, theindustry has continued to attract internationalinvestment.The province’s stable, growing and diversifiedeconomy benefits from a regulatory environmentthat is transparent and balanced. Accountingfor almost 40% of Canada’s output, Ontario’seconomy exceeds that of many industrializedcountries, including Belgium, Sweden, Switzerlandand Ireland. This economic stability can beattributed in large part to Canada’s advancedbanking and financial system, which has beenrecognized by the World Economic Forum asthe world’s soundest.Ontario’s economic success is also a result ofits proximity to key markets, including the UnitedStates. There are approximately 158 millionconsumers within a day’s drive of southernOntario making the province an attractive locationfor tourism investors looking to access a largemarket. Ontario is also home to the largestconcentration of Canada’s highest income earners,allowing investors easy access to an affluentdomestic market.Ontario’s strengths include a stable political environment, an economy thathas remained relatively healthy despite the U.S. recession, a stable real estatemarket, a secure investment environment, and the presence of a relatively largeand affluent population in the GTA. 36 WELCOMING INVESTORS: A Tourism Investment Attraction Strategy for Ontario
Supporting Ontario’s tourism sector is a largepool of highly skilled, reliable and availabletalent. Combine this with first class educationalopportunities and an enviable quality of life andthe province offers the perfect environment for aproductive workforce.In 2008, in order to create a more investor-friendlybusiness climate, the Government of Ontariolaunched its Open for Business initiative. Open forBusiness helps businesses save time and money byoffering faster, smarter and simpler governmentto-businessservices. This initiative has also helpedto eliminate over 80,000 regulatory businessrequirements.In addition, recent tax changes have contributed toOntario having some of the lowest overall businesscosts in the world. The province’s combinedgeneral federal-provincial corporate income tax(CIT) rate has decreased to an average lower thanthat of G8/G20 countries and is lower than theaverage U.S. federal-state CIT rate. This is one reasonKPMG’s Competitive Alternatives 2012 study ofinternational business costs found Canada’s overallbusiness costs lower than those of the U.S., France,Italy, Germany, Australia or Japan.Furthering Ontario’s competitive strengths is itscentral location and accessibility. The provincehas five international airports, including Canada’slargest, Toronto Pearson International Airport.Pearson International handles nearly 32 millionpassengers and over 400,000 flights annually.Close to 70 carriers provide direct service to 54 U.S.cities and 99 other international cities ensuring thatOntario is easily accessible from almost anywherein the world.Despite these significant advantages, many investorsremain unaware of Ontario’s possibilitiesas a tourism investment destination. This strategydocument outlines how the government will engageinternational investors to ensure that keydecision makers understand Ontario’s competitivebusiness environment and investment opportunities.The World Economic Forum has rankedCanada’s banking system as the mostsound in the world, four years in a row. 4► Blue MountainWELCOMING INVESTORS: A Tourism Investment Attraction Strategy for Ontario7
Page 1: WELCOMINGINVESTORS:A Tourism Invest
Page 4 and 5: ► Agawa Canyon 2.
Page 6 and 7: BackgroundIn February 2009, the Gov
Page 10 and 11: ACTION PLANACHIEVING OUR GOALSTo re
Page 13 and 14: OBJECTIVE 3Develop an investor outr
Page 15 and 16: OBJECTIVE 5Continue to identify pro
Page 17 and 18: ENDNOTES AND RESOURCESOntario’s t
Page 19: CONTACT USFor more information abou

WELCOMING INVESTORS: - Ministry of Tourism - Ontario.ca

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